Applicants have discovered a commercial need for an improved manikin joint that allows dressing of the manikin more quickly than can be done using currently-available manikin joints. Applicants have also discovered a commercial need for manikin joints that can be used with small manikin parts to keep them from being knocked off the manikin and lost. There is also a need for efficient manufacturing procedures for manikins comprising such joints. The following disclosure provides such manikin joints and manufacturing procedures.
A number of manikin joints comprising springs have been described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,540, 4,954,005, 5,098,213, 6,257,467, 6,575,441, 6,619,875, and 6,932,669, and 7,234,887, U.S. Patent Publication No. 20080296321, and PCT Publication No. WO 2012015290. Prior manikin joints have been unsatisfactory for the purpose of making it easy to dress manikins in trousers without detaching the leg from the body. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,234,887, allows a leg joint to partially open up only to an angle between the joint surfaces of about 15°, but this is insufficient to move the legs of most manikins close enough together that they can both be inserted into trousers.
AU patents and publications referred to herein are incorporated by reference to the extent not inconsistent herewith for purposes of written description and enablement.